Navigation device, navigation method, navigation program, server device, and navigation information distribution system

• US 7,783,421 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Arai, Toshifumi, Morioka, Michio
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran; Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): SAMPLE, JONATHAN L
• Application Number:
  US11/356,278
• Publication Number:
  US 20070032949A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,649 Days
• Field of Search: 701/211, 701/200, 701/207, 701/208
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3896 Transmission of map data from central databases

Abstract

A navigation device includes a navigation information storage unit in which navigation information, including the user-provided data, is stored; and a human machine interface unit that outputs the user-provided data and navigation information other than the user-provided data separately on an output device, that displays a warning message, read from the navigation information storage unit, and a screen prompting for an input for selecting whether to perform navigation processing based on the user-provided data when an instruction for performing navigation processing based on the user-provided data is input from an input device, and that causes a control unit, which performs navigation processing, to perform navigation processing based on the user-provided data when an instruction for performing navigation processing based on the user-provided data is input from the input device. In this way, a navigation system where user-provided data and official data are reliably combined can be provided.

Claims

1. A navigation device including a display device, an input device, and a control unit for performing navigation processing, said navigation device comprising:

a communication unit adapted to communicate with a server device;

a navigation information storage unit adapted to store navigation information therein, said navigation device adapted to receive a list of user-provided data with corresponding reliability scores from the server device and download, from the server device, user-provided data selected from the list of user-provided data into the navigation information storage unit so that a driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle is collected by the server device to create the user-provided data to be used for a route search as part of navigation information based on the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle, the user-provided data comprising coordinate information obtained from the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle and link cost with respect to the coordinate information used for the route search, a reliability score calculated based on the usage result of other users being provided for each user-provided datum; and

a human machine interface unit that displays the user-provided data and navigation information other than the user-provided data read from said navigation information storage unit;

wherein the navigation device performs navigation processing in accordance with map data and the user-provided data.

2. The navigation device according to claim 1 wherein the user-provided data is a driving history indicating a driving coordinate string of the user'"'"'s vehicle, POI (Point Of Interest) information including position coordinates of a POI and a name of the POI, and information including guide information for guiding the vehicle to a POI.

3. The navigation device according to claim 1 wherein the navigation processing is to display map information including navigation information read from said navigation information storage unit, to set a destination of navigation based on the map information, to calculate a route to the destination that is set, and to display route guide information on the calculated route on said display device.

4. The navigation device according to claim 3, wherein, when an instruction to download the user-provided data is received via said input unit, said control unit displays a warning message, read from said navigation information storage unit, and screen information prompting for an input for selecting whether to download the user-provided data from said server device on said display device and, when a selection input requesting to download the user-provided data from said server device is received via said input device, said control device downloads the navigation information from said server device via said communication unit.

5. A navigation method for use by a navigation device including a display device, an input device, a navigation information storage unit, in which navigation information is stored, a control unit that performs navigation processing based on the navigation information, and a communication unit that communicates with a server device, said navigation method comprising the steps of:

receiving a list of user-provided data with corresponding reliability scores from the server device, a driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle being collected by the server device to create the user-provided data to be used for a route search as part of navigation information, the user-provided data comprising coordinate information obtained from the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle and link cost with respect to the coordinate information used for the route search, the reliability score calculated based on the usage result of other users being provided for each datum of the user-provided data;

downloading user-provided data selected from the list of user-provided data from the server device; and

performing navigation processing in accordance with map data and the user-provided data stored in the navigation information storage unit.

6. The navigation method according to claim 5, wherein said navigation method further comprises:

receiving, via said input device, an instruction to download the user-provided data from said server device;

displaying a warning message, read from said navigation information storage unit, and screen information prompting for an input for selecting whether to download the user-provided data from said server device on said display device; and

when a selection input requesting to download the user-provided data from said server device is received via said input device, downloading the navigation information from said server device via said communication unit.

7. A server device comprising:

an input/output unit for inputting and outputting various types of data;

a driving history storage unit in which the driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle, received via said input/output unit, is stored;

a navigation information storage unit in which navigation information, including user-provided data, is stored;

a navigation information generation unit for creating the user-provided data to be used for a route search as part of navigation information based on driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle, the user-provided data being map information including coordinate information obtained from the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle and link cost with respect to the coordinate information used for the route search, the server device calculating a reliability score of the user-provided data based on a usage result of the user-provided data by other users;

a navigation information search unit that, in response to a navigation information acquisition request from the navigation device via said input/output unit, searches said navigation information storage unit for navigation information specified by the acquisition request;

a navigation information request processing unit that, if the user-provided data is included in the navigation information that has been searched for, sends a list of user-provided data, with corresponding reliability scores, to said navigation device; and

a navigation information download management unit that sends the user-provided data to said navigation device when a request to download the user-provided data is received from said navigation device.

8. The server device according to claim 7 wherein said input/output unit receives the driving history of the vehicle, including an ID (identification) of the navigation information, from the navigation device that records the ID of navigation information used for navigation processing for user'"'"'s vehicle, and further comprising a reliability score management unit that, with an ID of navigation information, included in the received driving history as a key, searches said navigation information storage unit for user-provided data having the ID for updating a value of the reliability score of the user-provided data that has been searched for.

9. A navigation information distribution system comprising a navigation device and a server device,

wherein said navigation device comprises:

a communication unit adapted to communicate with a server device; and

a navigation information storage unit adapted to store navigation information therein;

the navigation device being adapted to receive a list of user-provided data with corresponding reliability scores from the server device, and download from the server device user-provided data selected from the list of user-provided data into the navigation information storage unit, so that a driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle is collected by the server device to create the user-provided data to be used for a route search as a part of navigation information based on the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle, the user-provided data comprising coordinate information obtained from the driving history of the user'"'"'s vehicle and link cost with respect to the coordinate information used for the route search, a reliability score calculated based on the usage result of other users being provided for each datum of user-provided data; and

wherein said server device comprises;

an input/output unit for inputting and outputting various types of data;

a driving history storage unit in which the driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle, received via said input/output unit, is stored;

a navigation information storage unit in which navigation information, including user-provided data, is stored;

a navigation information generation unit for creating the user-provided data based on driving history of a user'"'"'s vehicle;

a navigation information search unit that, in response to a navigation information acquisition request from the navigation device via said input/output unit, searches said navigation information storage unit for navigation information specified by the acquisition request;

a navigation information request processing unit that, if the user-provided data is included in the navigation information that has been searched for, sends a list of user-provided data, with corresponding reliability scores, to said navigation device; and

a navigation information download management unit that sends the user-provided data selected by a user to said navigation device when a request to download the user-provided data is received from said navigation device.